


Remember

by TargaryensCoven



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, F/M, I Don’t Know How I Came Up With This I Found It In My Drafts From Three Months Ago, Kai Is The Ruler Of Hell, Landon Is Immune To Fire, Legacies Shadowhunters AU, They Go To Edom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 22:48:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20496596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TargaryensCoven/pseuds/TargaryensCoven
Summary: A year after the cure to the Merge is found, Landon is sent to Edom after his father “kills” him. Hope, Lizzie, Josie, and Penelope have to travel through Hell, literally, to save him before a war between all the supernaturals of Mystic Falls, Triad, and Malivore’s army develops because he’s the only thing that can save them.





	Remember

**Author's Note:**

> I had no idea where I was going with this it was just a random one shot that popped in my head sorry if half of this doesn’t make sense lmao. Yes I put them in Magnus’ apartment in New York and that’s where the war is taking place don’t ask why  
Side note: Edom and Hell are the same thing in this fic

The two stood in a dark-lit apartment with dark, wooden floors covered by carpets. The walls were made of bricks along with the pillars that appeared throughout the place every so often. There was a plethora of japanese antique everywhere. The large window next to them opened up to a vast scape of the whole skyline of New York City. The moon was out and full, shining brighter than usual. 

“Is there really no other way to get Landon back?” Jed asked, concern in his voice. As much as he hated the guy, the phoenix had began to grow on him throughout their years together. And no one deserved to be where he got sent.

Hope winced, thinking about all the possible outcomes that could occur if their plan went wrong. “Yes. This is the only way. And only four of us can go.”

Just then a girl emerged from the doorway to their left. A tall figure with dark brown hair and brown eyes. Josie Saltzman.

“It’s ready,” she announced, worry evident in her voice.

Hope sighed and nodded at the girl, then turned back to the asian boy standing in front of her.

“If you see Dr. Saltzman, promise him we _ will _ come back, for me. I don’t want him worrying about what’s going to happen. He has more important matters to deal with,” she ordered.

Jed smiled and shook his head, “I can’t make empty promises.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to do it,” MG said as he walked into the room. “Also, why are we all dressed in black like we’re in…...Mission Impossible or something? 

Hope shrugged, “Probably because this may be an impossible mission.” She turned and followed Josie into the next room where Penelope and Lizzie were waiting. Penelope, in her black cape and, of course, Salvatore School attire, and Lizzie in a black leather jacket and boots. They were standing around a white symbol painted along the ground. A pentagram.

“Demons aren’t gonna, like, _ fly _ out of the ground when you guys go, right?” MG asked in concern.

“Considering demons are going to be in the place that we’re going to, we can’t promise you that,” Lizzie responded. A lot of promises weren’t going to be able to be held tonight. How could they, when they were literally going to Hell where they might not even make it back alive?

Hope moved to stand at the front of the star beneath her, Lizzie to her left, Josie to her right, and Penelope in front of her. They stared at each other for a minute.

“Remind me why you chose _ me _ and _ Jed _ to be the ones to bring you guys back?” asked MG while walking through the door. He was doing a good job of hiding it, but he really was nervous. Nervous about what would happen to his friends.

Josie answered, “It’s part of the ritual. Only a vampire and a werewolf will be able to-”

The sound of a creaking door echoed throughout the apartment, causing the group to stop their movements. They listened as footsteps inched around the apartment.

Rafael appeared in the doorway, only to lean against it, out of breath. His expression was panicked. He sucked in air and announced, “You guys need to go. Now. They’re coming.”

“Triad?” Jed asked.

Rafael nodded. “And Malivore’s army.”

MG inhaled, “Malivore’s _ army _ is coming _ now _ too? That wasn’t part of the plan.”

Lizzie looked at the boy. “It was. But we didn’t feel like telling you because we were afraid you might opt out.”

He feigned a look of hurt. Opt out? “Why would I miss out on the chance to be a superhero?”

A flash went off outside that they all could see, followed by an explosion. The floor beneath them shook. 

The war was starting.

“We’re running out of time,” Penelope noted.

“She’s right,” Hope said as she let out a shaky breath. “We need to go.”

“I do too,” Rafael added, “I need to help the pack. Make sure you all make it back in one piece. With my best friend. And you two,” he pointed at Jed and MG, “Bring them back safely.” 

Jed nodded to his alpha and watched him leave, before looking back at the four witches in front of him. They held out their hands and grabbed on to each other. As their hands interlaced a pulse that felt like sharp needles piercing their skin ran through them, making the four grimace. A strong gust of suddenly wind blew from the pentagram, almost knocking everyone off their feet. The breeze grew stronger every second.

Jed and MG backed up against the wall. Hope’s, Lizzie’s, Josie’s, and Penelope’s grips all tightened. 

“Don’t let go!” Hope yelled over the wind, “if we let go now, the spell won’t work!”

Suddenly, a small, radiant light appeared in the middle of the star of the pentagram, but then grew until the whole symbol was consumed. And the four of them were standing at the edge of it.

Penelope looked up and locked eyes with Hope, just as she remembered something Alaric had told her and the girl before they had left. 

Penelope opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it, as if deciding against it. Instead, she asked over the roaring winds, “What do we do now?”

Hope looked down at the blazing light, and took a hesitant step forward. As her foot touched it, it burned, making her wince with pain. It felt like a flame devouring her foot. The three other girls noticed, but still decided to follow the tribrid’s lead.

Lizzie took the next step, then Penelope, then Josie. The light got hotter.

“See you in a minute,” the girl with the raven-hair said, jokingly.

Just as it felt like the pain couldn’t get any worse, the light disappeared and the wind stopped. The six in the room almost fell off their feet from the change in current.

Hope looked down at the pentagram, bewildered. “What happened? What- Why did it stop?”

A sphere of light exploded out of the ground and enveloped the four witches. 

And then they were gone.

* * *

The first one to wake up was Hope, followed by the twins and then Penelope. The first thing they all noticed was the sky above them. It was dark. Black clouds and a red sky. The ground was all rock and sand. There was no grass, and all the trees were withered and dead. Not a living thing was in sight.

In the distance, a large tower stood high, the top hidden in the eerie clouds, and lava poured out of a large crevice in the roof. It kept pouring, endlessly down into a pit located below.

Penelope raised her eyebrows at the sight. “Welcome to Hell.”

Josie stepped forward and pulled the girl back just as the spot she had been standing on gave out. The rock fell into a black hole for miles until it reached…...…..nothing. Just then the ground beneath them shook, and it seemed as though it let out a roar of anger.

She glared at Pen. “We’re here to save Hope’s boyfriend. Not lose my girlfriend.”

The temptress smiled and kissed the twin on the cheek.

“You’re not losing me,” she said before turning back to the others, who were looking at them expectantly.

It was a good thing that Penelope hadn’t looked at Josie after she kissed her. And that Hell was red. Or else she would have seen her blushing like crazy.

“Are you guys done?” Lizzie asked in annoyance. “We need to save the world.”

“I think that’s where they’re keeping him,” Hope interrupted, pointing at the tower. “There really isn’t anywhere else anyone could go.” Everywhere else they turned just led into infinite nothing. If someone were to get lost in it, they would never find their way back. And it would be impossible for anyone to find them.

“Alright, then let’s go,” Penelope motioned and they began to trek to the structure ahead of them.

After a few minutes, the four came to a halt as a screech echoed throughout the thick air. A dark-winged figure appeared above the horizon, atop a large rock construction, shaped almost like a cliff. It leaped off the edge and flew at them with blinding speed.

Lizzie frowned at Hope who took a small step back. “Four powerful witches against a small winged beast? We can take it.” She held out her hand to perform a spell, before Josie put a hand on her arm and stopped her.

“Wait.”

As the monster inched closer to them, it slowly occurred to them as to how big it actually was.

“That isn’t a small winged beast, Lizzie,” Hope informed. “That’s a fury. And furies don’t come alone.” Just as she said that a dark cloud appeared behind the tower. The echo of their flapping wings sounded like drums being beaten repeatedly. Completely off tempo.

Lizzie focused on the fury closest to them. She put her hand on Josie’s shoulder, where it glowed red.

“_Fluctus inpulsa.” _

The fury’s wings stopped, causing it to lose momentum and crash into the ground.

Lizzie looked back. “If we run, we might be able to make it.”

“Make it where?” Hope asked in confusion. “If we make it into the tower, there will _ probably _ be more monsters trying to kill us. We’re in _ Hell. _”

“_Igaeus!”_

Loud bellows were heard throughout the sky just as Penelope pushed a large amount of furies back. It was too late to run. They were going to have to fight. A thousand furies were coming at them. Creatures that were twice the size of them length wise, but with their wings they had to be five times larger than them in width. Each.

The ground beneath Lizzie’s feet glowed red as she siphoned magic from it. She aimed her it at the sea of furies coming at them. 

“_Dissulta!” _she yelled, trying to use as much power as she could. In return, she felt like a part of her energy was drained from her body. Josie caught her sister before she fell just as the sky shook, as hundreds of the winged beasts burst in mid-air. Black blood splattered everywhere. But for each one that died it seemed as though three more took its place. After a few moments the black sea of furies was upon them.

The Mikaelson stepped forward. She made an outward motion with her hands.

“A-”

A fury dived down so fast Hope didn’t have time to react. It knocked her off her feet and pinned her to the ground. It was way uglier up close. The fury had atleast sixty sharp teeth all in its big mouth. Its skin was black and wrinkled, and it had no hair on its skeletal body. Its wings were tattered like worn out rags, and it smelled like blood.

And it didn’t have a nose.

The fury lifted its taloned arm, about to slash Hope’s throat before-

“_Ignalusa,” _Josie spoke, causing searing flames to flow from the palm of her hand. The fire hurtled towards the monster about to kill her friend, and scorched it from a burning pulp all the way to ashes.

“We should have asked dad for his crossbow or something,” the twin stated.

The three agreed. Using magic drained their energy quick. They could only use so many spells before they couldn’t anymore. And Hope’s wolf powers probably wouldn’t do them any good.

Penelope helped Hope get back on her feet just as Josie sent another fire spell at the furies.

“I have an incantation that can buy us enough time to get to the tower,” the tribrid offered. If it didn’t work, they’d have to fight all the furies that existed in Hell. “But we’re all gonna have to do it.”

“What is it?” the blonde twin asked, surprise evident in her voice.

Hope held out her hands, and the three followed her lead. They linked their hands together like they had before, but instead of standing in a circle, they faced the sea of demons that was right in front of them now, less than a mile away. The only thing that could be seen was black.

“A death spell.”

Josie looked at the girl in shock. “A_ death _spell? That uses dark magic. Using dark magic in groups is more dangerous than using it alone.”

“I know it uses dark magic. But so did your fire spell. I got it from the book you gave me,” Hope added, “Repeat after me, _ tenebris anima vestra contundito mortem et conteret spiritum. Frange vitam nolite corde ut sub terra esse, ad tenebras usque in sempiternum.” _

_ “Tenebris anima vestra contundito mortem et conteret spiritum. Frange vitam nolite corde ut sub terra esse, ad tenebras usque in sempiternum.” _

The furies got closer. Their screeches got louder and the gusts from their wings got stronger. They looked ready to tear the witches apart.

They were half a mile away.

The witches repeated the spell again as the furies swooped down with their legs outstretched, aiming for their heads.

“_Tenebris anima vestra contundito mortem et conteret spiritum. Frange vitam nolite corde ut sub terra esse, ad tenebras usque in sempiternum.” _

All the furies exploded right on top of them. Black blood poured down above them as if it were raining poison.

Penelope held out her hand and yelled out, _“Scutum!”_

Just then a shield surrounded the four, protecting them from the acidic liquid falling from the sky, until there wasn’t any left. The scarlet ground was now painted black. There were a few spots that had not been touched, just enough for them to get passed the mass amount of blood.

Lizzie asked, worriedly, “How long did that take?”

“Enough time,” Penelope responded. “We have to go. For all we know, our friends could be dead right now.”

Hope pictured Dr. Saltzman, MG, Kaleb, Raf, and everyone they had left behind back on Earth, lying on the ground, unmoving. She followed Penelope’s tracks and started running.

* * *

Inside of the tower looked…….exactly like the Salvatore School back in Mystic Falls. Except, the only thing that was different was everything was worn down. None of the lights worked, and the only light being emitted was from outside. The was a spiral staircase that jsut went up, hundreds of feet, and all it lead to was a floor that looked exactly like the first one. The railings of the stairs were broken, and the whole place just radiated…..death. They all could feel it.

Nobody noticed but Josie intertwined her hand with Penelope’s.

Penelope turned her head in surprise. “Are you scared, Jojo?” she teased with a smile.

“To be honest,” she whispered, “a little. I have this feeling like something excruciatingly terrible is going to happen.”

“Well, me, Lizzie, and Hope won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

“I’m not scared of anything happening to me, dumbass,” she joked, “I’m scared that something is going to happen to one of _ you._”

Penelope squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry. We’re all getting out of here. With Landon. No one’s dying tonight.”

“Landon?” Hope called down one of the corridors. They could hear the echo reflect down the walls of the hallway. It echoed for ten seconds before stopping, signalling that the end of it was very, far down.

“Hope?” a quiet voice called out.

It wasn’t Landon’s. 

The four backed away from the dark hall so fast they almost tripped over one another. The voice sounded like it belonged to a girl. But it was familiar, only to Hope, but she didn’t know why. 

“Hope?” the voice said again. This time it was a man, who had an accent.

She knew who this voice belonged to. Her heart pounded in her chest.

“Dad?” she called out. She walked towards the darkness.

What none of the witches knew was that they were all hearing different voices. Voices pulling them towards different parts of the school away from each other. Further, into the darkness. Where they would never be seen again.

“Josie, come here,” her mom beckoned.

“Mom, what are you doing here?” the brunette asked in bewilderment. Why was her mom in Hell?

“Josette, come quick, your father needs our help, get Lizzie!”

Suddenly, the blonde appeared next to her. She was confused as well.

She asked, “Is it just me, or are we hearing our dead mother’s voice?” They had already been greeted by their mom once while she was beyond the grave, and they both knew afterwards that they preferred to just see her in the afterlife instead. But the twins knew for sure that their mom would_ not _ be in Hell.

Suddenly, Alaric’s voice said, “Girls, what are you doing? We need to go.”

Josie frowned and reached her hand out. “He sounds so…...….real.”

“That’s because he’s not,” Landon’s voice said from behind them. Suddenly, something whizzed passed Lizzie’s head, and a shriek coming from in front of them followed. Something collapsed on the ground.

The brunette and the blonde turned to see the green-eyed phoenix standing behind them, his teal plaid shirt splattered in blood. He was panting, as if he had just ran all the way from the top of the staircase all the way down to the bottom floor. Hope appeared behind him.

“They were sirens,” she explained. “They were…..hypnotizing us with the voices of the people we love.”

They all nodded in understanding. Sirens were one of the most dangerous creatures because how they entranced people and lured them in like a temptress seducing-

Josie’s heart dropped into her stomach, and suddenly she felt like she couldn’t breathe as a bone-rattling realization came to her. She looked down at her empty hand, and then around. There were only four of them. There was supposed to be five.

“Where’s Penelope?”

* * *

They searched five floors before stopping to catch their breath. They had split up, Josie and Lizzie and Hope and Landon. Because Landon didn’t exactly have any supernatural powers except not being able to die. There were still atleast eleven floors left. Eleven floors that all looked exactly the same. Eleven floors, and somehow Josie knew she something wasn’t right. They returned back to the first one to meet up.

“She’s not here,” she stated. She felt like her lungs weren’t working properly. Like she couldn’t breathe in enough air.

Hope put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find her. Whoever took her couldn’t have gotten far.”

Right. As if they weren’t in Hell. For all they knew Penelope could be……. 

“How was earth when you guys left?” Landon asked. “Did you find a solution, or am I the only one that can stop Malivore’s army?” 

Hope sighed in defeat. “You’re the only one.”

Lizzie stood from where she was sitting on the stairs. “I can’t believe the world is depending on a thrift store hobbit to save it. It couldn’t have been Hope. The _ tribrid. _Or Raf. Or Josie. Or-” The floor gave out beneath Lizzie’s feet and she fell into it in a blink of an eye. The three looked at the ground, stunned, just as vibrations could be felt through it.

“Did my sister just get swallowed by Hell?” Josie asked in shock, just before she realized she didn’t have feet. Her legs were in the ground, as if it were quicksand. She tried to pull them out but they wouldn’t budge. She just kept sinking. And so did Hope and Landon.

“What happens if we just…..let it take us?” the phoenix asked in distress.

“Landon, we can't just die,” Hope said, absolutely bewildered at his suggestion. 

“I get that if we do die everyone else dies too. And we can’t get out, and I’ve seen things like this all the time in movies-”

Hope stopped fighting and glared at her boyfriend. “You’re really saying that the way out of this hell-hole is through the _ floor?” _

The ground was up to their hips now. There was no way to escape it.

Josie added, eyeing the surface that was now consuming her, “Maybe he’s right.”

The only problem was………..what if they really were wrong? What if they let the floor….._ eat _ them, and instead they didn’t make it?

But they all agreed to let the ground swallow them. It was that, or fight a losing battle against it. And seeing as Lizzie got swallowed by it, and, hopefully or not Penelope, then the only way was down. 

The three grabbed onto each other.

“If we don’t live to see another day,” Landon started to say as their arms disappeared, “I just want to say-”

“If we don’t live to see another day, I’m gonna kill you,” Hope answered while watching as they were now neck-deep into the surface of Hell. 

The twin looked at the two. “But….won’t we already be dead?” 

The siphoner, tribrid, and phoenix shot each other a look and inhaled one last breath just as they were consumed into the heart of an immense darkness.

It felt as though someone was ripping them into pieces–like a large hand was ripping their intestines out and trying to morph them into a completely different thing like when people twisted balloons to create animals_ . _ And the worst part was that they couldn’t scream. They couldn’t make a noise because they couldn’t _ breathe. _

All of a sudden, a strong force pulled them down and they hit a hard surface. It was stone. _ Rock _. Hope, Josie, and Landon almost passed out, before a face appeared above them.

It was Lizzie.

She looked like she had taken a punch to the face, and her blonde hair looked more untidy than usual.

“So much for being superheroes,” she muttered. “The world has probably _ ended _ by now and you all are taking a nap on the floor?”

Hope pushed herself up and got to her feet, where she winced. “You didn’t just get swallowed by quicksand, Saltzman.”

“No, I didn’t. I fell for miles through infinite darkness before I hit where you guys are right now, and I’ve been wandering around this place, alone, for a _ while._”

Landon and Josie got up too.

“Have you seen Penelope?” the other twin asked.

Lizzie sighed. “I think I did. But she wasn’t alone. They were heading over there,” she pointed to the structure in front of them.

A dreadful feeling settled in Josie’s heart.

Hope walked to stand beside Lizzie and observed their surroundings. It looked exactly the same as before, with the same tower from before in front of them. The only difference in this place was the large, black cloud above them.

“Tracking enchantments don’t work in Edom,” Lizzie noted. The four glanced at the tower. The last time they were in it, it clearly didn’t end the way they thought it would. 

After a few moments, a giant, red bolt of lightning struck the spot right next to Landon. They all jumped in surprise. Then suddenly, the winds started to pick up. 

“The only place we can go to is the tower,” Josie indicated.

Hope glanced at the sky. “There is better than here,” she said, and they started sprinting. A flash of electricity fell from the sky and hit the ground where they had just been a few seconds ago. The spot exploded in sparks.

The frequency of the lightning was increasing every second, and slowly started to catch up with them. Their shoes pounded against the gravel beneath their feet at a rapid pace.

“We’re almost t-” Landon began just as he got hit by a jagged white streak of lightning. It blasted him off his feet and he went flying forward. The three other girls stopped running.

“Go!” Hope told the twins. She ran towards Landon and motioned towards the tower, “Find Penelope! We’ll be right behind you.”

The two nodded and ventured away, while Hope got down to help her boyfriend, whose arm was on fire. He tried rolling around on the ground to put out the fire, but then suddenly his whole body erupted in bright flames instead. 

“Landon!” the auburn-haired girl shouted. Landon rolled onto his back and when she looked at his eyes, she realized they weren’t the dark green they usually were. 

They were a gleaming red. 

Hope took a sharp breath in, and watched as the fire coursing around him immediately extinguished within a moment. Landon shook his head and looked down at himself, confused, before his girlfriend yanked him to his feet and pulled him towards their destination, as thunder rumbled through the sky. It sounded like a thunderstorm, yet there was no rain pouring down, although dust was being blown around, creating dust clouds. It was becoming hard to breathe.

Hope executed a shield spell long enough for the both of them to reach the tower, where the twins were waiting for them on the second floor.

“Guys we’re running out of time. Have you found her?” the tribrid asked as she ascended the steps to the next floor. The place really was the same as it was before.

Josie paced through the tower’s second level. “No. I don’t think-”

A piercing bolt of lightning crashed through the ceiling above them, and shocked the ground beneath them, leaving a cloud of smoke behind. The four covered their eyes, their vision becoming out of focus, but once the dust cleared, it revealed a two figures before them. One was a limp body on the ground and the other was a man. He was standing over it.

The man was Kai Parker. And the body on the ground was Penelope Park. And she wasn’t breathing.

Kai just stood there, with a smug grin on his face, a grin that pissed all the teenagers in the room off. Because he had them all in the palm of his hand.

He glanced around. “Are you guys not happy to see me?”

Hope glared at the witch in disbelief, along with the twins.

“Who is he?” Landon interrupted in confusement, concern in his voice.

Josie spoke up first, “Our mom’s brother. Let’s just say he isn’t our favorite uncle.” 

The Gemini laughed. “I’m your only uncle now, actually.”

Lizzie stepped forward and frowned. “What do you want?”

“Just to, you know, balance the scales out.”

Landon glanced down at Penelope, realization dawned on his face. 

Kai shook his head in annoyance. 

“One of you got sent to Hell. Four of you came in. Only four of you are leaving. That’s how this works. If you try to break the rules, I’ll have to kill one, maybe all of you.”

The four stood silently and looked at one another. There was no way they were going to leave Penelope behind. There was no way they were leaving anyone behind. They didn’t have time to lose anyone else today.

Hope stepped forward, and announced, “Then I’ll stay. I have to.”

“No you don’t,” Landon interjected. “You guys came here for me-”

“Which means you have to get back to earth, Hobbit,” Lizzie interrupted in disbelief. “You’re literally the reason we’re in this mess right now. _ And _you’re the only one that can stop the world from complete destruction. I’m staying. Everyone hates me anyway.”

“Well since you’re all saying your good-byes,” Kai said, and snapped his fingers. In a few seconds Penelope gasped for air and rolled onto her back. The four ran to her as she started coughing and gagging. Hope grabbed her hand and helped her up to her feet.

“You get five minutes,” he added. “If you try to escape,” he clicked his tongue, “I’ll kill all of you.” He disappeared in a blink of an eye.

A moment later, Josie wrapped her arms around Penelope, and the girl returned the hug. Tears welled up in the twin’s eyes. 

“If you leave like that again,” she mumbled, “I swear to God-”

Penelope pulled away from her, grabbed her face, and captured her lips in a deep kiss.

Landon and Hope looked away, while Lizzie pointed out, “Are you guys _ done _? One of us is literally about to be stuck in this Hell-hole for the rest of their life.”

As soon as Josie let go of her girlfriend, she announced, “I’m staying.”

Penelope, keeping her hands on Josie’s face, backed away to look at her more clearly. She frowned. “You oblivious, selfless, pyromaniac. No you’re not.” 

“Like hell I’m not-”

Lizzie shook her hands in exasperation. “I already said I’m going-”

Hope looked at the blonde, “And we already said n-”

“Can we all shut up!” Landon yelled. The four girls stopped.

“None of us are staying here,” he declared. He stared at the ground, as if trying to think of all the possibilities there were to escape, before he began to pace around. Not a single idea popped up into his head.

“Well we have three minutes to decide,” Penelope noted, unfazed.

Lizzie glared at the brunette’s expression. “Why are you not freaking out about any of this?”

“Because we all know I’m staying.”

Hope, Landon, Lizzie, and Josie all went silent.

Josie said what her girlfriend had just said to her moments before. “No, you’re not.”

Penelope smiled. “Yes, I am. And the only way you’re gonna stop me is if you kill me.”

Josie clenched her jaw.

“Believe me when I say I’m actually considering setting you on fire.”

Hope took a step forward. “We’re not leaving you here, Penelope. We’re not leaving anyone here.”

Landon ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

“We have to, though.”

“He’s right,” Kai’s voice echoed from the top of the stairs. They all looked up to see him descending the steps at an even pace. He was in a suit now, instead of the casual clothing he was wearing before.

“We still have time to decide,” Josie said, annoyed. She hated how the witch acted as if everything was a game, like he knew he was going to win.

“Oh, I know. I’m just offering some.…...guidance. You guys seem like you are in _ dire _ need of it.”

“No, actually. We’re fine, thank you,” the blonde twin replied.

The man suddenly appeared at the bottom of the steps, in front of them, and smiled.

“What was it you said before?” he asked Lizzie. “Wasn’t it something like……..‘There’s always a loophole’?”

The group stopped and looked at the guy, who was now sitting on the stairs, smiling and waggling his eyebrows at them. 

“What are you talking about?” Lizzie questioned, narrowing her eyes. She remembered saying it, but she couldn’t remember when.

Kai looked up and laughed, but then his smile faded.

“What makes you, you?” he asked them.

They stared at him, dumbfounded. They didn’t know where he was going with it, and what he was saying probably wasn’t even trustworthy.

He continued, “Memories. Memories of the things you, others, everyone, does. You learn from them. You find out who you are through memories.”

“So you’re saying that one of us has to give up all our memories in order to leave?” Hope asked.

Kai just smiled, and didn’t say anything.

The students of the Salvatore School looked at each other again, before the witch spoke up.

“Not all your memories. Just all your memories of the supernatural. And your supernatural abilities. Once you leave here, you’ll have no connection to this mystical world, because you won’t remember _ any of it._”

That was how they were going to maintain balance. The only way for all of them to get out of Hell.

That was the loophole.

One of them was going to have to forget everything.

Kai disappeared again, and told them that they had an extra minute because he was feeling _ nice _ (although in reality he found it funny watching them decide each other’s fates). Landon stuck his hands in his pockets and once again paced around the duplicate of the Salvatore School. “Let’s see, so I guess I’m out of the question. Since I _ have _ to go back, according to Lizzie.”

“I’m doing it,” Hope indicated. They were getting really serious now.

“Hope,” Josie cautioned.

Lizzie added, “You’re not. You’re the _ tribrid _. You’ve saved our asses too many times. It’s our turn to return the favor. And your boyfriend clearly needs you because he can’t stop making stupid decisions.”

Landon frowned, but didn’t say anything to address the blonde’s remark.

“Well, I’m not letting either one of you forget all the shit we’ve been through these past few years.”

“Yes you are,” Josie declared.

Lizzie glared at her sister, “No you’re not. I am.”

“It’s actually kind of funny because none of you guys are going. Someone’s already made up her mind,” Kai interrupted once again. He was looking off somewhere, and when they followed his gaze, they saw who he was looking at.

Penelope.

She was staring at the open doors at the front of the school, and sighed.

“I wish I could see the beaches of Naath again,” was all she said.

Josie stood up lightning fast and walked over to the girl.

“You stupid, Game of Thrones nerd,” she said and shoved her lightly. It was taking all of her willpower not to break down right then and there. There was no way she was going to let her girlfriend stay in Hell for the rest of eternity, let alone forget _ everything _ from her life of being a witch.

Penelope tore her eyes away from the outside and looked into the brown ones in front of her.

“It has to be me. Hope and Landon need each other. You need Lizzie and she needs you. I have to do it.”

Josie shook her head as she got misty-eyed. “No, you don’t.”

“Evil-one, Satan, She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named,” she looked at Lizzie, “She-Devil,” she laughed at Hope, “yeah. I mean, I’m really not _ that _ important to anyone.” 

The brunette looked down. She said, just above a whisper, “You’re important to me.” 

As she spoke, it felt as if someone began twisting a knife in her heart.

Josie shook her head as tears started streaming down her face. But then, gently, Penelope wiped them away.

The twin continued. “You broke up with me after our first year of high school. You left to Belgium for _ more than a year _ after the pageant. You disappeared _ today _and we literally just found you a few moments ago after thinking you were dead. And now you want to leave again.” 

“And I’ll come back. Again.”

“And what if you don’t? What if we never see you again after today? What am I supposed to do?” 

“Move on,” the short haired girl answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She furrowed her eyebrows.

Josie stared at her in bewilderment, but knew arguing wouldn’t do anything, Penelope had already decided she was going to be the one to lose her memory. The only thing they could do now was say their goodbyes. They all knew it.

Hope stepped up from behind her. “Alright, well, maybe I’ll miss your bitchy banter. Just a little bit.” She said with a sad smile and chuckled, and so did Penelope. They embraced in a hug, and the tribrid sighed. “It still should’ve been me,” she added.

“Sometimes the greatest heroes are the ones that need to be saved,” the witch responded as they let go of one another.

“Come here, _ Shakespeare, _” the blonde twin remarked and wrapped her arms around the girl.

Better name than ‘Satan’ ever was.

“Elizabeth Saltzman showing emoti-”

Lizzie let go and narrowed her eyes at her sister’s girlfriend, who just smiled in return. She turned to Landon, and shook his hand.

“I guess I’m gonna find out if you were telling the truth when you said special is normal.”

He nodded. “I’m starting to believe that I was wrong though,” he fixed his gaze on Hope, who was standing behind him, looking elsewhere, to the stairs.

Kai was coming back down.

“If you guys aren’t ready by now, I’ll just leave you all here for the rest of your lives. I have things I have to get done.”

“We’re ready,” Penelope said as she took a step away from her friends. “What do we have to do?” 

“The question is,” he countered, “what do _ you _ have to do.”

The five of them eyed the witch carefully. He made a motion with his fingers, telling Penelope to step closer. As she was about to, Josie clutched her arm. The girl looked back just as she was enveloped in a hug.

“You’re going to forget us. You’re going to forget me,” she said. 

The shorter girl assured her, softly, “No, I won’t.”

“The whole time after we broke up, you made me hate you. You made me think you were heartless. And all of it was just…...”

Penelope pulled the girl closer into her embrace, buried her face into Josie’s neck, and then her tears came.

Josie let out a shaky breath, one she didn’t know she was holding. And then, with every emotion she could muster, spoke.

“I love you too,” she whispered, her voice cracked. 

Penelope closed her eyes and let Josie’s words wash over her, processing the words she had waited years to hear back. She then let go of her without another word, now stepping towards Kai. 

“There has to be another way,” Lizzie’s voice spoke just above a whisper.

Hope exhaled in defeat. “There isn’t.”

“Now,” Kai ordered, “Step right up and you all will be on your way.”

Penelope walked until she was at arms length away from the witch. Kai stuck his right hand out so that it was mere inches from her face, and the air between them started to heat up. She glanced back at Josie, taking in every feature and every detail of the love of her life. She remembered every kiss and every touch. Every smile. And a small smile grew on her face as well, because deep down she knew that she would never love anyone the way she loved Josette Saltzman.

“I love you, Jojo,” was the last thing she said before Kai snapped his fingers and everything turned white.


End file.
